She's a force of nature

Tornado hero is still helping her neighbors

"I'll get you that money, one way or another," Bygate blurted. "Don't you worry." For more than a year, Bygate has thrown herself into helping victims of the Feb. 2, 2007, tornadoes that devastated Central Florida cope with their losses. Now, she is receiving national recognition for her efforts.

The U.S. Small Business Administration will honor her with its Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contributions to Disaster Recovery by a Volunteer. She will drive to Washington, D.C., next month to receive the award.

Before the tornadoes, which killed 21 people in Lake County and destroyed hundreds of homes in Lake and Sumter counties, the 56-year-old golfed five days a week and enjoyed retirement after a decade running a cabinet shop in Oldsmar with her husband, Arnie, 68. The devastation she saw that morning spurred her into action.

"I just felt this incredible need to help these people," she said. When she offered her help to organizers at a local church, she said she was told that there were already enough volunteers. Undeterred, she lent a hand anyway.

"She was so relentless," SBA spokeswoman Carol Chastang said. "She basically created her own one-woman recovery agency. She put her life on hold to help these people out. That was powerful."

Bygate traveled daily from her home in Summerfield to Lady Lake, bringing pillows, food, clothing and even furniture in her white 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee. She helped victims fill out insurance paperwork, connected them with relief agencies and enlisted civic organizations and churches for assistance.

One of the areas worst hit by the storms was the Sunshine Mobile Home Park, where three residents died. More than a year after the tornadoes, about 40 of the 84 lots in the park are still empty. Many residents moved out and haven't returned, scarred by bitter memories of losing their homes and neighbors.

Bygate still spends much of her time there, helping remaining residents cope.

"It was a war zone," Bygate remembered of that disastrous morning. "I saw people with that deer-in-headlights look: You could tell they were alive, but they weren't there at all."

Richard Carter, a Sunshine resident, recalled Bygate's reaction to the devastation. His mobile home was torn to shreds, but he emerged alive - gripping his West Highland White Terrier, Lisa, by her chest harness. About a week after the storm, Bygate found him shocked and not knowing where to turn.

"Melinda came to bat for me," Carter said. "I really needed help, but I didn't want to admit it. She could read my mind, I guess."

Carter, 80, now lives in another nook of the park. The television in his living room is one of dozens Bygate has found for victims through donors.

Bygate said she met many people who, like Carter, didn't know how they could recover from storms that blew away most of what they had.

"I recognized there was a great need for me to become their eyes and their ears," she said. "A lot of people are afraid to ask for help. I'm not. If I go knock on one door and they say 'no,' I just go knock on another."